Finding the Link Between Cyberbullying and Suicidal Behavior Among School Going Adolescents

Abstract

Background: Studies have shown that cyberbullying or online bullying has increased the risk of suicidal thoughts and suicidal behaviours. Although suicide or suicidal behaviours are not directly related to cyberbullying it can be said that cyberbullying increases depression rates and feelings of isolation which end up in suicidal calls. This research aims to understand the nexus between cyberbullying and suicidal behaviour. Methods and materials: A self-administered and anonymous online questionnaire was used to survey 410 higher secondary school adolescents aged 16 to 18 and the data analysis has been carried out by statistical analysis with the help of IBM-SPSS software of version 22. Results: The findings of the results have revealed that cyberbullying was more prevalent among the respondents than cyber victimization. There was a small fraction of the population that said that they had undergone suicidal behaviour due to cyberbullying. Between text messaging and multimedia messaging, the best platform for cyberbullying was multimedia messaging. The reason behind this was its usage around the world, its popularity, and its ease. Teenagers over the age of 17 years have reported the highest percentage share for suicide rates and most of them were female. Conclusion: It can be concluded that cyber bullying is a threat to those girls who is currently studying in 11th standard and or age 17 years whose parents are separated or not living together.